2023 Best Value Sociology Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Sociology School for You
Sociology is the #27 most popular major in the country with 38,475 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Sociology Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This report analyzed 86 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best value programs for sociology students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 15% Best Sociology Schools
Our 2023 rankings named University of Wisconsin - River Falls the best value school in the Great Lakes Region for sociology students. UW - River Falls is a medium-sized public school located in the town of River Falls.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - River Falls are $15,661 per year. Sociology majors at UW - River Falls take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree.
In addition to its great value ranking, UW - River Falls is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Sociology Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.
Full Sociology at University of Wisconsin - River Falls Report
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Sociology Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the large suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public college with a large student population.
SIUE undergraduate students pay an average of $11,496 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that sociology majors at SIUE take out is $29,494.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Whitewater. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Sociology Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the distant town of Whitewater, UW - Whitewater is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UW - Whitewater are $16,602 a year. After completing their degree, sociology graduates from UW - Whitewater carry an average student debtload of $25,035.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, UW - Whitewater also did well on our Best Sociology Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Illinois University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Sociology Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. WIU is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Macomb.
WIU undergraduate students pay an average of $13,297 in tuition and fees each year. On average, sociology graduates from WIU take out $38,132 in student loans while working on their degree.
Full Sociology at Western Illinois University Report
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Purdue University Northwest is a great value for sociology students. Purdue Northwest is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Hammond.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Purdue Northwest are $14,349 per year. After completing their degree, sociology graduates from Purdue Northwest carry an average student debtload of $26,423.
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Northern Illinois University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value sociology programs. Located in the small suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public school with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at NIU are $14,738 a year. After completing their degree, sociology graduates from NIU carry an average student debtload of $27,500. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $233, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value sociology programs. Located in the small city of Oshkosh, UW Oshkosh is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UW Oshkosh are $15,306 a year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UW Oshkosh also is in the top 20% of our Best Sociology Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.
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Eastern Illinois University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value sociology programs. EIU is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Charleston.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at EIU are $14,551 per year. Sociology majors at EIU take out an average of $26,250 in student loans while working on their egree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $129, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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University of Akron Main Campus ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Sociology Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Akron Main Campus is a large public school located in the city of Akron.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at University of Akron Main Campus are $11,880 a year.
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With a ranking of #9, University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point did quite well on this year’s best value schools for sociology students. Located in the town of Stevens Point, UW - Stevens Point is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - Stevens Point are $17,035 per year. The average amount in student loans that sociology majors at UW - Stevens Point take out is $25,375.
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Wright State University - Lake Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for sociology students. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the rural area of Celina, Wright State University - Lake Campus is a public college with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Wright State University - Lake Campus are $16,015 per year.
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With a ranking of #12, Central Michigan University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for sociology students. Located in the town of Mount Pleasant, Central Michigan is a public school with a large student population.
Central Michigan undergraduate students pay an average of $13,094 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, sociology graduates from Central Michigan carry an average student debtload of $28,462. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $177.
Read full report on Sociology at Central Michigan University
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Here are some additional great value schools for Sociology students in the Great Lakes Region seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Sociology Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | University of Wisconsin - La Crosse | La Crosse, WI |
| 14 | Youngstown State University | Youngstown, OH |
| 15 | University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire | Eau Claire, WI |
| 16 | Chicago State University | Chicago, IL |
| 17 | Illinois State University | Normal, IL |
Best Sociology Colleges by State
Explore the best sociology schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Michigan | 551 |
| Ohio | 702 |
| Illinois | 841 |
| Indiana | 471 |
| Wisconsin | 504 |
More Sociology Rankings in the Great Lakes Region
Majors Related to Sociology
Sociology is one of 12 different types of programs to choose from.
Most Popular Majors Related to Sociology
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Political Science & Government | 49,282 |
| Economics | 49,055 |
| General Social Sciences | 18,997 |
| International Relations & National Security | 14,306 |
| Anthropology | 11,415 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Kontos.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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